Ulterior Motive
by FriedMetaki
Summary: That irregular utterly baffled him.


**Author Note: **Yep, I jumped onto the Madoka bandwagon. So, I decided I should contribute a little something to the fandom. Here's my idea of what may have occured that caused Homura to kill Kyuubey the first time in an instance that was mentioned during the timeline we saw. As this is my first Madoka fanfic, I hope it's not too OOC.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own these guys. Be thankful for that.

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><p>Day in and day out Kyuubey spent his leisurely time observing, or as humans might call it, stalking <em>her<em>. Observing a girl known as Homura Akemi. But his way of receiving information on her should by no means be classified as stalking. Stalking was such an ugly word. Kyuubey preferred to refer to it as "discreetly learning about her by watching her behavior closely while she wasn't aware of it." This way, she wouldn't discover him and his research wouldn't be hindered by unnecessary questioning from the subject in question. It was simply logical to learn about her this way.

Kyuubey never really understood much about humans, much less humans-turned-magical-girl. They could prove to be as perplexing as they were fascinating. From what Kyuubey gathered of them, they were mammals. Not sentient beings, not cyborgs, or even test tube experiments.

They were mammals, even though they did not bear claws or gills or fur, they didn't need to walk on four legs either. All they needed were two legs to balance on. They also had other expendable traits such as a ears, fingers, toes, noses, and eyes. But one particular trait of theirs stood out like a black raven in a pile of white snow.

This particular trait was referred to as an emotion or depending on their grammatical standing in a sentence, emotions. That was another thing that Kyuubey didn't understand- emotions. They were such odd things, practically useless.

All they seemed to do was hinder the humans' decisions and progress. In fact, because of these emotions, if it had not been for Kyuubey's race they never would have advanced from their prehistoric stage. They did not benefit humans in any way, but they seemed to be the main focus of their everyday lives.

For some humans, emotions seemed to completely run their lives. However, Kyuubey couldn't say that these emotions were a complete nuisance. If it weren't for human emotions, his species, the Incubators would not have been able to create one of their most marveled inventions.

The Soul Gems.

The Soul Gems proved to be a very useful source of energy for his species. It was how they survived, so naturally the Incubators had to think of some way to repay these humans for so graciously helping them create a living. That was done through making Contracts.

The humans didn't often realize it, but being privileged with the offering of a Contract was really quite a wonderful thing. Especially since it wasn't as if the opportunity of taking part in a Miracle was an every day thing. That was why they were called Miracles, after all.

They were not only miracles for humans, but miracles for his own race as well. Everyone could benefit from them. Everyone could enjoy them. Everyone would want to seize the opportunity. Kyuubey honestly couldn't think of one human who would pass on this offer.

Unless they weren't human anymore, of course. Sitting completely still, the Incubator continues to observe this human-but-not-really Homura Akemi. But she wasn't really a magical girl either. She was more of an irregular.

She had the powers of a magical girl, but she didn't fill out the duties of a magical girl either. She only fought witches when absolutely necessary. She didn't seem to be after any particular goal either. In fact, Kyuubey could barely what her wish had been.

That just fascinated him even more. How could this girl have gained access to the powers of a magical girl if he couldn't quite recall how she had started a contract with him? If she hadn't started a contract with him and instead some other Incubator, what had her wish been about? Why was she so interested in the new girl he had recently discovered, Madoka Kaname?

These questions were exactly why Kyuubey was so interested in learning more about the mysterious Homura Akemi. She didn't make sense to him. It was true that she did not use her powers to save other humans caught up in witches' illusions like his dear friend Mami Tomoe, but she wasn't exactly selfish either.

He could tell that she wasn't. But at the same time he didn't know why he could tell that she wasn't selfish. He had seen her protect a particular girl, Madoka, on numerous occasions that he was sure the girl probably dismissed as strange dreams the next day. But why? Why did Homura only want to protect _her_?

Though he hadn't told the aforementioned girl for the reason that he hadn't approach her yet Kyuubey knew that Madoka was the only girl on this planet that could become the most powerful magical girl in the galaxy, but he was certain that he hadn't informed her of this. He would've remembered telling her that. That was the part about her that intimidated him.

It intimidated him to know that she knew so much when he barely told her much about magical girls. Kyuubey also knew that she had often worked with Mami, so he supposed that the blonde vigilant would've passed some information onto her.

But there was absolutely no way Mami could've passed on information to her that even she herself did not know. If his species could have expressions, Kyuubey would've leered suspiciously at Homura at that moment, as she calmly sipped tea in her hideout.

Kyuubey started when he thought Homura had looked up at him from the ledge was crouching on him, but discarded the sense of caution when he recognized that she was simply getting up, perhaps to get a refill for her cup of tea. Sure that the coast would be clear for awhile he climbs down from the ledge, entering the small adobe.

He had been waiting for a chance to observe this hideout all day, so that he could more properly search for information that might reveal her identity, or at least her ulterior motive behind transforming into a magical girl. She must keep papers somewhere that inform her of events, or at least ones that map out areas of the next place a familiar or witch will appear.

There was no way that she could manage to successfully figure out these locations on pure instinct. Not only that, but also be right about each location every single time.

While magical girls were able to detect magical barriers with their soul gems, it still took a little more work to decipher the precise whereabouts of magical energy. Unless they happened to be a veteran or experienced hunter.

Being as quiet as he possibly can be, Kyuubey scouts around for more useful information hoping to discover something that will give him his desired answers. He waltzes over to a stack of papers that keenly catches his eye. Kyuubey decides that these papers must hold the information on Homura that he's been seeking after for such a long time.

Finally, he will understand just who she is. Finally, he will understand her identity. Finally, he will understand what she contracted for. Finally, he will understand her ulterior motive. Her ulterior motive which has been baffling him for longer than he can remember.

While shuffling through the stack of papers, Kyuubey finds a log that is marked "TOP SECRET." As if that's going to keep him away. If she made a contract with him or a fellow Incubator, than he has the right to do a little harmless snooping into her personal information.

Kyuubey lifts up a paw to turn the front page of the log, skimming through quite a few other tedious notes and details until he comes across one particular entry. Rereading through the first half of the entry, he gasps as he drops the log in shock. He doesn't notice the thud that it makes as it hits the solid linoleum floor underneath his paws.

If he hadn't been in such shock, he would've noticed whose attention was brought forth by the sound of the thick log hitting against the floor. He would've tried to run to escape the gruesome fate of his that was coming. He would've tried to be a little more cautious about making noise.

He would've seen her come in.

He would've seen Homura Akemi, the time traveler, standing behind him with a rifle aimed right to his head.

A suffocating thick air of tension passed through the two less than friendly acquaintances, swallowing them both in an uneasy silence. All that could be heard was Kyuubey's heart thumping frantically in his small chest. The frantic thumping was so loud it was hurting his own set of ears.

If it hadn't been for the loud thumping, he wouldn't have made the foolish decision of turning around to face the infuriated magical girl standing behind him. He wouldn't have turned around only to have the same rifle pressed against his forehead. He wouldn't have made any of these mistakes if he hadn't been so preoccupied by something else even more initimidating than her.

The initmidating, yet also unfamiliar feeling that was causing his heart to pound frantically against his chest at that very moment. Whatever it was, he did not enjoy it. He wished it would show up at some other time when he wasn't trying to save his skin from a bloodthirsty magical girl who would be using it as a throw rug after she was done with him.

"As of right now, you have overstayed your welcome Incubator," Homura stated all of this calmly, yet somehow her calm tone still managed to sound threatening. Though it may have seemed that way since she was holding a rifle against his forehead, her finger tighty gripping the trigger.

"Now now, is it really necessary to turn this into a violent situation?" Kyuubey telepathically responded to her, grateful that his species did not have expressions so that the feeling was experiencing would not have been visible to her, "Can't we calmly discuss this over a cup of tea? I heard from a yellow bird that your tea is quite delicious. Besides, there are important questions I have about you that I'd like to discuss."

"There is nothing you need to discuss about me that you have not already just discovered on your own. The only thing I'll be willing to discuss you with is where to place your mantel after we're finished," Her cold words reverberate through his ears, sending chills through his small form. Chills that merely fuel the unfamiliar feeling coursing through him now.

Yes…

Kyuubey understood this feeling now. He could not explain why he was harboring it as emotions were not a common trait of his species, but he knew enough about emotions to know what to label this particular one as.

It was known as fear.

He feared that he had seen too much.


End file.
